Unconditional
by imforever
Summary: Flynn Rider never had a mother. That doesn't mean he envied Rapunzel for having two.


**A/N: **Cute movie. Very cute. Seemed like a good way to start off a fanfiction career. Gothel was a very endearing villain. Quick oneshot.

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**Unconditional**

There was really no explanation for sneaking into his girlfriend's room. At least, none that Flynn could think of as he shimmied down the rope, through her skylight. Truthfully, other than the 'looking cool' factor, there wasn't even a reason for it. He could have just as easily knocked. In fact, as the shoddy knot he had tied in the rope began to tremble, knocking seemed like a very good option.

Perhaps being a thief who was welcomed in a castle, and dating the princess of the castle, was too much of a paradox for his mind to handle. Maybe that was the reasoning that possessed him to climb up to the roof of the castle, pry open Rapunzel's window, and scale down her wall in silence, effectively invading her privacy. Or, at least that was what he would tell her when it came time to face the frying pan.

Flynn walked his feet down the wall, looking at the small figure of his princess on the far side of the bedroom.

Rapunzel was sitting, with her knees to her chest, absently touching her cropped hair. Pascal was on her shoulder, snuggled into her neck. Despite sitting on Rapunzel's pink sleeve, Pascal was colored blue.

Flynn silently craned his neck to see over her curled form. She had an assortment of paints in front of her, and a fresh painting completed.

It was strange that she still painted. Flynn would have abandoned the art altogether, along with anything else that reminded him of that awful life. But Rapunzel still painted the walls of her room. Covered every inch with pictures of The Snuggly Duckling, along with all the thugs they'd met inside, Maximus, their campfire, and their boat ride to see the lanterns.

Flynn noticed, with a smirk, a lot of himself. She always got his nose right.

Then he noticed her most recent addition to the gallery. It was a painting of her tower. There was a familiar cloak laying at the bottom of it.

_Uh-oh._

Flynn proceeded forward with caution, dropping soundlessly to the ground. Casually folding his arms behind his back, he walked across the room, and leaned over her shoulder.

"Hey, Goldie," Flynn grinned as she startled, "the extravagant palace life got you down?"

She recovered from her fright and quickly rubbed at her eyes before looked over at him.

"Of course not," she declared, forcing an unconvincing smile, "it's perfect."

"Yep, this is my idea of perfect," Flynn nodded, leaning against the wall beside the painting, "a princess who just found her family, sitting all alone in her room."

When she didn't respond, he shrugged, "Yep. Perfect. While we're at it, why don't we add some crying orphans, and a few starving kittens. Then it would really be all we ever dreamed of."

"Okay, I get it," She pouted, giving him a teasing push.

Flynn smiled softly, and sank down next to her, "Come on, Blondie. Tell me what's been eating you." Rapunzel hesitated for a moment, looking over at him nervously. When she saw the comforting smile, she relaxed.

"It's just…my mother," Rapunzel flinched at her error, "I mean Gothel."

"Have you been having bad dreams, or something?" Flynn asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. It seemed like the right assumption. The tower was surrounded by a dark sky, and the cloak looked eerie. He would have called it the product of a nightmare.

It was only when he was closely looking over the painting that he noticed a minute detail. In the tiny window of the tower, there was a figure. A little girl with short brown hair. It was hard to make out the face, but if he would have guessed she was crying.

_Oh._

"You miss her."

Rapunzel looked sharply at him, her eyes wide. Then her entire figure tensed, and she looked outraged,

"She _stabbed_ you, and she tied me up, and she kept me locked in a tower selfishly, for _eighteen years-"_

"And you still love her." Flynn finished.

Rapunzel hung her head, and Pascal nuzzled her shoulder.

"Are you mad?" She whispered, hiding her face.

Flynn blinked. A lot of things used to make him mad. Risking his life through death-defying travels, only to find out his priceless treasure was a plastic replica, made him mad. Realizing that his greatest adversary was a thousand pound horse made him mad. Getting followed around all day by a golden-haired hustler, repeatedly being told that it was the best day ever, made him a little bit mad.

Looking at Rapunzel, while her big eyes peeked over her knees, Flynn didn't think much of anything could make him mad anymore.

"I could never be mad at you. Especially not for your feelings. Sure, she wasn't who you thought she was, but it's only natural." Really, he didn't blame her. Rapunzel was so openly loving that even her outrage and disgust wouldn't bury eighteen years of affection.

Rapunzel smiled sadly, "She was my mother, even if it wasn't real. Sometimes I just feel really sorry for her."

She held herself tighter, looking up at Flynn with a shine over her eyes, "Do you think she even loved me?"

Flynn felt a sort of panic coming over him. It was the familiar 'no tears' panic he got whenever Rapunzel looked at him with those big, shiny eyes.

"Hey, hey," He said, as soothingly as he could, wrapping an arm around her, "she raised you for eighteen years. It's impossible that she didn't love you."

He gave her a lopsided grin, "It only took me two days."

Rapunzel looked up at him and smiled in a way that, though he'd never admit it, made his stomach flip.

"Eugene, I love you too." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

Flynn encircled his arms around her waist, holding her securely. He buried his face in her hair, and grinned at the smell of sunshine… Then he felt a wet patch on his shoulder. He brought his head back slightly and saw tears slipping down Rapunzel's cheeks.

"Hey!" He said, pulling his arms away frantically, "hey, that's not fair! That's cheating! St-stop it!"

"They're happy," she sniffled, smiling broadly and rubbing her eyes, "don't worry. They're happy tears."

Flynn felt his heartbeat calm down, and he let his shoulders relax, "Those still aren't allowed," he reminded her, draping an arm around her shoulders, and not saying a word as she cried into his shirt, "remember? We discussed all these. They're in the 'No Crying' clause of our relationship contract." He heard a bubble of laughter, wet with tears, as Rapunzel hugged him tighter.

Rapunzel crying was at the top of a very long list of things Flynn Rider could not deal with. But he supposed that Eugene was alright with rubbing her back and reminding her that her love would never go to waste again.

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**A/N:** Every time you review, Rapunzel and Flynn get another dream, and another happily ever after.


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